The two-hundred-and-seventy-fifth "cheder" in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Sunday, 28 Menachem Av 5703.
Lessons: Today we begin a new parashah — Chumash, Shoftim, first parashah with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, on the 28th of the month, we recite from chapter 130 through chapter 139 inclusive.
Tanya: Today one begins the ninth letter of Iggeret HaKodesh. The lesson starts at the beginning of letter 9 with the word "u'baal," and concludes on page 110 with the words "pi haTorah."
Earlier in "Hayom Yom", on 16 Sivan, there already appeared a saying whose content was the comparison between healing of the soul — the true healing of the soul, of course — and healing of the body; and here, in the daily teaching, the Rebbe speaks of an additional point in which one sees the interface and similarity between healing of the soul and healing of the body. Both sayings come from the very same letter: the first part of the letter appeared on 16 Sivan, and the latter part appears in the daily teaching. The letter is dated 22 Sivan 5698.
Let us examine the wording of the Rebbe Rayatz in his letter: "There are, generally, two approaches to healing bodily illness." When we come to heal a particular physical problem, there are two modes of engaging in medicine. "a) To heal the limb or the faculty that is impaired, ill, and weak" — when a person has a problem, it is sometimes located in the impaired limb itself (for example, a broken hand, in which case he cannot move it, and likewise with any other limb), and sometimes the limb itself is sound but there is a problem in the faculty that activates it. This first approach focuses on the problem itself: if the problem is in the limb — to heal the limb; and if the problem is in the activating faculty — to strengthen the deficient faculty.
"b)" — there is a second approach among the methods of healing: "to strengthen the healthy limbs and faculties." Not to deal with the specific problem, but to strengthen the entire bodily system, the external system and the other limbs, so that when most of the good faculties are strong and healthy — and as it continues — "they will overpower the ailing limb and faculty and bring it healing," so that the body overcomes the problem on its own through the strengthening of the good side. This strengthening affects the other parts as well, for among all the faculties of the soul and all the limbs of the body there prevails a very strong harmony, and each one influences its fellow, and when one grows strong — it acts upon the other as well.
If so, in bodily illness there are two modes of treatment. And what is the analogue? "The parallel to this in the illness of the soul is in two modes of avodah." A person who has a spiritual problem, an illness in his spiritual soul, and wishes to treat it — precisely those same two matters exist here as well. And what are the two matters in the analogue? "Teshuvah and good deeds," the two paths of avodah. Teshuvah is like the first mode — that you repent over the specific problem, treat it, see where you failed, and take upon yourself not to fail again. Good deeds are like the second mode — to strengthen the entire system, to add in mitzvos and to increase in goodness, and consequently you will distance yourself from evil. These two modes in the physical realm correspond exactly to these two in the spiritual realm.
It is worth noting, as a source-reference, the wording of the Gemara in Yoma: "Great is teshuvah, for it brings healing to the world." We see that even the Gemara attributes to the avodah of teshuvah a power of healing — as the Rebbe points out here, that teshuvah is one of the paths of healing, the healing of the soul.